Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols and Patagonia Washington DC present Urban Blue and the 2nd Annual Blue Mind Award ceremony and celebration.

Please join us on Sunday, September 27 from 6-8pm for a special evening with New York Times bestselling author of Blue Mind, Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, and special guest Dr. Jamie K. Reaser, as we explore new ways of understanding our relationship to healthy waterways. Through artful collaboration, engaging conversations, and interdisciplinary research, Blue Mind is changing the way we think, feel + act toward water and providing a paradigm shifting ‘blueprint’ for a better life.

He will also present the second annual Blue Mind Award to University of Virginia’s Professor of Sustainable Communities, Tim Beatley, for his work with Biophilic Cities around the world and his groundbreaking book, Blue Urbanism.

The Blue Mind Award recognizes the efforts of an individual and/or organization that is a mechanism of positive change in his/her Blue community.

Tim Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for the last twenty-five years. He is the author or co-author of more than fifteen books, including Green Urbanism, Native to Nowhere, Ethical Land Use, Biophilic Cities, and his most recent book, Blue Urbanism.

Nichols is a scientist, activist, wild water advocate, movement-maker, and dad who works to inspire a deeper connection to nature. His research and expeditions have taken him to coasts and waterways across the globe and his work has been broadcast on NPR, BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and Animal Planet and featured in Time, Newsweek, GQ, Outside Magazine, Fast Company, and Scientific American, among others.  He holds a doctorate in wildlife ecology, is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciencesand is the founder of several non-profits and author of more than 50 scientific papers and reports.

His recent book, Blue Mind examines the cognitive and health benefits of healthy waterways.  Combining cutting edge research with compelling personal stories, Dr. Nichols shows how proximity to water can improve performance, increase calm, diminish anxiety, and increase professional success. Blue Mind not only illustrates the crucial importance of our connection to water - it provides a paradigm shifting ‘blueprint’ for a better life.

Jamie K. Reaser has worked around the world as a conservation ecologist, international policy negotiator, trainer of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), and wilderness rites-of-passage guide. She holds degrees in Field Biology and Studio Art from the College of William & Mary, as well as a doctorate in Biology from Stanford University. In addition to being a scientist and policy-maker, Jamie is an award-winning poet, writer, photographer, and artist. All of her work explores the interface of Nature and human nature. Jamie wrote the Reader’s Guide for the paperback edition of Blue Mind.

The second annual award presentation is, once again, co-hosted by Patagonia with contributing sponsor, The Ocean Foundation.

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